Clare Hospital’s current ED is old and no longer fit for purpose, with cramped spaces, limited privacy and no dedicated waiting area. 

This investment will deliver the 101-year-old hospital a brand-new ED, enabling local medical and nursing staff to provide emergency care in a modern environment and ensuring the Mid North community can access high-quality care when they need it. 

Demand for emergency care at Clare Hospital continues to grow with presentations increasing by 27 per cent over the past five years – from 2,372 in 2019-20 to 3,006 in  2024-25. Currently, emergency services are delivered within the hospital ward, with patients often required to wait in the main hospital entrance due to the lack of a dedicated ED waiting area.

This upgrade builds on the Malinauskas Government’s $7.3 million investment to redevelop Clare Hospital’s theatre suite and deliver a brand new Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD), which are currently under construction and due to be completed this year. 

These works will deliver a modern surgical suite that is compliant with recently updated  National Safety and Quality Health Service standards and will provide an improved experience for patients and clinicians. 

Since coming to office in 2022, the Malinauskas Labor Government has made huge investments in regional health, delivering a bigger health system across the state from the Clare Valley and Yorke Peninsula, to the Riverland, Fleurieu Peninsula and Kangaroo Island. 

The Malinauskas Government has invested $400 million in regional health capital works since it was elected. This includes $144 million this financial year – a more than 300 per cent increase compared to the $34 million invested in the final year of the Marshall Liberal Government. The Government has also invested in a bigger regional health workforce, growing regional health services, and supporting South Australians to get the care they need, closer to home.